BL Report sat 7/2 - mon 7/4

[ahlangle]

Sat 7/2/16: Launched at spicers a little late with a buddy and girls, no live shrimp. Hit some spots on south end of lake and picked up some pogies, and a couple of trout, but slow. Went back in afternoon with some live shrimp, and hit some spots in bayous and cuts on SW end, nada. Tried jetties and water was good but couldnt get a bite. Lots of guys went offshore saturday since it was so calm, but since I had never done it at BL and only one boat (with girls), decided that wasnt the day to try it.

Sun 7/3/16: Tried spots on the lake near channel very early but water was very dirty/mixed up so we quickly moved to w. cove. Picked up a few trout and one nice one around 22" on plastics while trying to avoid the wind. Went back out in the afternoon and had a tough time finding anywhere to fish (or any fish) out of the wind, but managed a couple more on a spot off the channel further up towards spicers. Glow/chartruse lil jons and white gulp mullets were what they wanted.

Mon 7/4/16: Almost didnt go out because of the high winds, but we found a few reds on some rocky cuts off the channel up above w. cove. Shrimp on bottom produced a few reds, mostly undersized. Wind ran us off around 9:30.

All in all, tough weekend for my group (especially with me at the helm!). Still learning but i did find a couple of new spots. As i figure out how to fish BL, i have learned to apply a few tactics:
(1) if it looks fishy, lets try it,
(2) everybody in boat try something different,
(3) at a new spot, ill throw plastic/gulp trying to cover as much water as possible to locate em, (artificial i can try the whole water column, and cover more water than a live bait in one spot)
(4) if we've tried all of our baits, live and plastic, in the whole water column and cant get em, lets get outta there
(5) if i cant get anything to eat after several different spots in an area of the lake, lets try a whole new area. Patient is sitting and waiting to get lucky in a dead spot. Persistence is hitting a spot deliberately, and knowing when to move and keep moving.
(6) when the water is like 90 degrees, they aint guna be there, so find deeper water
(7) if i can get out there safely, just go, because anyone can be a hero when conditions are perfect, but i really learn most when conditions are tougher and will eventually learn to make it work when things are difficult.
(8) I'm not a guide, and i cant expect a box like the pros when i am just a weekend warrior, if that. I make it a point to have a plan before i go, and keep notes to learn what works and what doesnt, and build a base of intel as i go, to have something to push off of next time.
(9) never leave a trip without at least one new spot


Hope my trials and many errors helps somebody, and I'll take any advice anybody has.
Many thanks.